goodly

/ˈɡʊdli/

//ˈɡʊdli// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"goodly" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“goodly” is uncommon English (frequency #54,808 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,808
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Good; pleasing in appearance; attractive; comely; graceful; pleasant; desirable.

Corpus desk

Index EN-goodly · goodly · English

goodly · rank #54,808 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,808
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH Griffey

Nearest frequency peer: Griffey (+2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “goodly”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “goodly” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for goodly
PropertyValue
Headwordgoodly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɡʊdli/
Letters6
Frequency rank#54,808
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “goodly” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).goodlyfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Griffey” (#54,810), “girlish” (#54,805), “grifter” (#54,811). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “goodly” is #54,808. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

goodly is uncommon English at frequency #54,808 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈɡʊdli/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for goodly in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *gadanąvṛd. Proto-Germanic *gōdaz Proto-Indo-European *leyg- Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *gōdalīkaz Proto-West Germanic *gōdalīk Old English gōdlīċ Middle Engli… The correct English form is goodly, spelled G-O-O-D-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Good; pleasing in appearance; attractive; comely; graceful; pleasant; desirable.
  2. 2
    Quite large; considerable; sufficient; adequate; more than enough.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how goodly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Her goodly thighs, whoſe glory did appear, / Like a triumphal Arch,[…]
  2. The diuell can cite Scripture for his purpoſe, / An euill ſoule producing holy witneſſe, / Is like a villaine with a ſmiling cheeke, / A goodly apple rotten at the heart. / O what a goodly outſide falſehood hath.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *gadanąvṛd. Proto-Germanic *gōdaz Proto-Indo-European *leyg- Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *gōdalīkaz Proto-West Germanic *gōdalīk Old English gōdlīċ Middle English goodlich English goodly From Middle English goodly, goodlich, gōdlich, from Old English gōdlīċ (“good, goodly”), from Proto-West Germanic *gōdalīk, from Proto-Germanic *gōdalīkaz (“good, goodly”); equivalent to good + -ly. Cognate with Dutch goedelijk, goelijk (“harmless, benign”), German gütlich (“friendly”), Icelandic góðlegur (“benign”).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "goodly"?
"goodly" is spelled G-O-O-D-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡʊdli/.
What does "goodly" mean?
As an adjective, "goodly" means: Good; pleasing in appearance; attractive; comely; graceful; pleasant; desirable.
How do you pronounce "goodly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "goodly" is /ˈɡʊdli/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "goodly"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *gadanąvṛd. Proto-Germanic *gōdaz Proto-Indo-European *leyg- Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *gōdalīkaz Proto-West Germanic *gōdalīk Old English gōdlīċ Mi... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "goodly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

gigolo#54,803groupe#54,814hauler#54,825Hearne#54,827

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list